OXFORD University may be known for its brainiacs, but its student newspaper dug out dirty details on whether more action in the bedroom translates into better academic results.

The outcome?

Those who have the most sex tend to get a second upper or a second lower honours degree.

But students who have sex less than once a month or abstain altogether may see an extreme - they are likely either to achieve a first class honours, or fail altogether.

History students enjoy high scores - almost a quarter of respondents have sex between three and five times a week.

This was followed very closely by students studying politics, philosophy, economics and English literature.

The survey of more than 850 students also found that only 15 per cent of students have yet to lose their virginity.

And you are much more likely to achieve a First Class degree if you are gay.

According to Oxford University student newspaper Cherwell, 41 per cent of gays who replied to the survey achieved First-class honours in the exams, compared to 38 per cent of asexuals and a third of heterosexuals.

The poll found that students in Oxford University's colleges of Somerville and New were the most promiscuous, while University College had the greatest proportion of virgins.

But the survey also threw up worrying results over sexual health.

Although a seemingly small number (5 per cent) of students confessed to having had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) - much lower than the United Kingdom's national average of one in three people - around half of respondents admitted to having unprotected sex.

About 59 per cent of students said they had never been tested for a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Lack of knowledge

Mr Sam Tucker, a spokesman for St Anne's College, attributed this relatively high number of students having unprotected sex to lack of knowledge about the risks.

He said: 'I think people sometimes don't realise the consequences of their actions.

'If we make it easier for condoms to be accessible and to be obtained anonymously, then this number should drop.'

Mr Mohsin Khan, Chair of University's LGBTQ (lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender) Council downplayed the results, saying the distribution of sexuality among colleges varied from year to year.

He told Cherwell: 'From personal experience, I have not found college stereotypes about sexuality to be true in any way.

'Every year, the distribution of LGBTQ people differs from college to college. There is no liberal gay college here and there is no straight college either.'

Mr Khan also emphasised the importance of protection, after the survey showed that homosexuals were more likely to have unprotected sex than heterosexuals by more than 13 per cent.

But this is also a message relevant to the graduate and undergraduate students, regardless of sexual orientation.

Survey results indicate older students get far more bedroom action - 27 per cent of graduates claimed to be having intercourse 3 to 4 times a week, compared to only 21 per cent of undergraduates.

Also, a staggering 81.4 per cent of graduates admitted to regularly masturbating, compared to 75.3 per cent of their younger counterparts.

Only 10 per cent of student respondents said they have had more than 10 sexual partners.

This article was first published in The New Paper.